Of the 186 stray dogs that were originally kept inside the IIT Madras enclosure, 57 have died, says the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Tami Nadu. At a Madras High Court hearing challenging the institute's enclosure to house the stray population and the role of a Nagercoil-based NGO that has been entrusted to do so, the department said that the NGO had failed to take care of the dogs.
However, it was contradicted by the Animal Welfare Board of India, which said that the dogs are taken care of well and that no rules have been violated. While the court is set to hear the case again on December 9, the court has asked all parties to work together to ensure that the dogs are taken care of. "Take corrective measures without criticising what the others are doing. Give us suggestions on the 9th," a bench of acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice PD Audikesavalu said.
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While the petitioners pointed out that a large number of dogs had died and that many others were sick, the institute's counsel said that the dogs were fine when they were taken from the institute. NGO Blue Cross of India, which is another party in the petition, said that the IIT is violating the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. When the Bench asked the NGO if it could take care of all the dogs, it said that that would be a violation of the Animal Birth Control norms and that they can only take sick and ferocious dogs.
